Listen to your client and help them close the space between problem and solution. The strategy, method and tools may vary but our goal remains the same.

At Brian, our distinctive blend of experience, creativity and influence is brought to bear on our clients’ business. Sometimes, it’s built around a big idea. Other times, it’s a straight-forward solution. The execution, though, is flawless every time.

Wisdom is in Short Supply.

Our agency leaders know what it’s like to sit on all sides of the table. They’ve been the agency, the client and the media. And they’re business leaders, not agency people. That’s different. It uniquely informs the strategic and holistic approach we take in helping our clients.

The Team

We also know that if you want great work, you need great talent — smart people who care deeply about clients and are passionate about their work.

Here are some of our team members:

Andrew Jessick

Marketing and Sales Strategist

An avid skier, cyclist and Eagles scout, who can start a fire with a bow drill and owns a cat (nearly) small enough to be classified as a “mini”.

Lindsay Ritschel

Director of Project Management

Has been to 37 of the contiguous United States and has gone skydiving.

Sandeep Subbenaik

QA Analyst

Born and raised in India, he moved to the UK for higher education and obtained two masters. He traveled 11 countries across Europe and Asia before settling down in Pennsylvania with his American wife. He’s an avid cricket fan and player.

Jim Laurich

CFO

Studied abroad in Rotterdam, Netherlands and has travelled to many other European cities.

Katie Kavanaugh

Associate Project Manager

While in college, I was on the executive committee for the largest student-run philanthropy in the world (THON) and got to appear in a commercial with Jim Gardner while promoting it.

Megan Dutill Staub

Account Executive, Public Relations

A competitive ballroom dancer who loves writing fiction.

Logan McGee

Designer

Born in Korea, lived in Hawaii and now loving life in Philly. Passion for bonsai planting.

Emily Loughlin

Junior Account Executive

After graduation, spent a year travelling the world by working and living on cruise ships.

Emily Charles

Account Executive

When she was born, Emily was featured on the front page of the newspaper because she was born on the 4th of July along with her brother but he is exactly six years older than her!

Matt Goldstein

Associate Vice President

Once sat next to DJ Jazzy Jeff at a 76’ers game and would rather be on the beach 99% of the time.

Carly Buggy

Senior Account Executive

Lived on Île Saint-Louis in Paris for four months on the same street as Johnny Depp. The Bachelor is her guilty pleasure and she has seen every season.

Chris Van Roden

Account Executive

Once saw a bear fight a moose in Ontario.

Brian Tierney Jr.

VP Marketing and Sales

Was once in a hot air balloon accident.

Anthony Mallamaci

Senior Account Executive

#TrustTheProcess.

Kelley Simon

Account Executive

A Harry Potter expert. She has been to both the Harry Potter studios in London and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando.

Scott Kornblatt

Lead Developer

A self-proclaimed TV & movie junkie with a head full of useless information from the 80s through today, with a love of music recording and production from his home office.

Rebecca Wuhl

Talent Acquisition Manager

Can often be found at Lincoln Financial Field in Steelers colors, eating Heinz ketchup and yelling at Eagles fans.

Bill Tierney

Associate Vice President

Still enjoys eating Lunchables on a regular basis. Dreams of visiting every MLB stadium and already has a good head start.

Jon Snyder

Marketing and Business Strategist

A new father to son Henry, a passion for brewing beer and gardening with his wife and has two big dogs named Watson and Lily.

McKenna Young

Account Supervisor, Public Relations

Her “real” first name is Lauren, but has always gone by her middle name, McKenna. She will jump at the chance to plan any party, big or small.

Nathan Steffy

Web Developer

Loves to cook and can make an awesome crème brûlée

Megan McMonagle

Senior Account Executive

Recently drove across the country from Philly to Portland: 12 states in 6 days.

Rachael Harleman

Account Supervisor

Has traveled to the Amazon Rainforest in Guyana, South America.

John Strain

Account Director

Ask him about the drive from Frankfurt, Germany to Paris during a blizzard. Let’s just say it took nine hours.

Lanier Aberant

Office Coordinator

Don’t ask her to sing and dance, because she will. She has been in over 20 Community Theater musical productions.

Rachel Mignogna

Project Manager, Digital

Studied abroad in Rome and visited seven countries.

Luke Woods

Project Manager

A part-time wedding DJ with a strong celebrity-selfie game.

Kourtnaye Lewis

Senior Account Executive, Public Relations

Has lived in thirteen different houses in three states. Was a competitive horseback rider growing up, and still rides for fun outside of work.

Widener University

THE BRIEF

In 2011 Widener University, a private university based in the highly-competitive Philadelphia region, was feeling the pressures felt by many higher education institutions at that time. While a declining job market for the recent college graduate was the topic of national discussion, Widener faced its own set of distinctive challenges, notably a higher than average tuition. Additionally, key measurements of success such as applications, enrollment and retention had begun to plateau, and in some cases, decline.

However, university leadership smartly recognized these challenges and focused on how it could turn the tide. There was an identified need to reinvigorate and redefine the Widener University brand. To achieve this, Brian Communications was chosen to work with the university to uncover key strategic insights that would deliver a renewed brand platform and ultimately, lay the foundation for a synergized communications and marketing campaign to directly address the challenges faced by Widener, specifically those tied to enrollment.

Now in its fifth year, the campaign, “Widener Leadership Works™” continues to resonate and deliver.

RESULTS

In a hyper competitive market, Brian Communications has helped Widener to establish a strong brand that drives students – and parents – to commit to it.

Based on independent research conducted by Melior:

“Willingness to Consider” has skyrocketed by 300% among prospective students, moving from 13% to 44%

“Likely to apply” also dramatically increased from 11% to 25% among prospective students

Key performance metrics of students also improved. Average SAT scores rose 23 points and average household income among families has grown by $19,000

In August 2015, Widener once again welcomed its largest Freshman Class with 846 freshmen students. Its retention rate is also at its highest point in 10 years

Within the past five years, as other universities struggle to differentiate their voice and fill their seats, enrollment at Widener is up 18%

Widener University professors are now quoted as experts in national media twice as often as local competitors

World Meeting of Families

THE BRIEF

With this Vatican-sponsored event being held in the United States for the first time, the World Meeting of Families – Philadelphia 2015 (WMOF) had the opportunity to prepare the City of Philadelphia for the visit of Pope Francis and for visitors from around the world. In collaboration with WMOF and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Brian Communications coordinated its major marketing and public relations initiative, “I’ll Be There,” which included the first Public Service Announcement to ever feature a Pope, and the development of branded collateral for businesses across the region. The agency also led coordination of WMOF’s city-wide branding initiatives – the largest of its kind in 15 years – and the development of the Papal Visit Playbook, the revolutionary online resource guide for local residents, which was leveraged by key local media outlets. In addition to these efforts, Brian Communications coordinated corporate sponsorship and media relations surrounding the four-day Congress and two-day Papal Visit. Efforts resulted in a historic week, which delivered hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city and more than a billion media impressions worldwide.

RESULTS

More than 20,000 attendees, from over 100 countries, attended the World Meeting of Families Congress (A 300+ percent increase from Milan 2012)

Executed more than 40 press conferences in the 18 months leading up to the event in both Rome and Philadelphia

Coordinated more than 3,000 media inquiries/interviews/Q&As prior to the event

Hundreds of thousands attended both the Festival of Families (September 26) and Papal Mass (September 27)

Event coverage by nearly 5,000 members of the international press corps

Delivered more than a billion global media impressions during the weekend with live coverage of Papal events by cable, national and local affiliates including the Papal Mass on CNN International (Seen in more than 200 Countries)

84 front pages in the United States alone on Monday, September 28 including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and USA Today

14 of the top 15 contributors on Twitter were international and national media organizations, with these outlets delivering more than 938 million impressions through this single social channel

Independence Blue Cross

THE BRIEF

The Affordable Care Act changed the landscape of the health care industry, and Independence Blue Cross under the leadership of a charismatic CEO, had a compelling corporate story to tell a national audience. Working hand-in-hand with the client’s communications team, we seized the moment to make Independence one of the most sought-after voices on health care in the country. Through both reactive and proactive outreach efforts, our teams utilized an aggressive media relations strategy to enhance the company’s profile on a national scale, bringing repeated coverage throughout the Affordable Care Act rollout.

News Media Alliance

THE BRIEF

The public relations team at Brian Communications was charged with helping the News Media Alliance change the general perception of the state of print and digital newspaper media. It has been imperative that we convey to the advertising community that newspapers remain a worthwhile investment, and that the real story of growth and innovation is told to members, policy makers and readers. Empowering a challenged industry to support and disseminate a new, positive storyline is no small feat to be sure, and one that has required a strong content marketing and media relations effort. Engaging with the News Media Alliance’s marketing team, we have developed a strategy to reach and engage members in compelling ways – exposing this fresh, confident new narrative to newspapers.

RESULTS

Placed thought leadership pieces in more than 260 news outlets across the country in just one year, generating 392.6 million impressions

Secured media placements in Mashable, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Politico, Wired, C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, Information Week, The Hill, The Financial Times and many more

Earned 922.6 million media impressions on the association in one year, boosting awareness of the real – positive – state of the industry

The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility

THE BRIEF

When the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility planned to launch a comprehensive campaign to educate teens about making smart choices, they wanted to make the most of the star power available through their celebrity ambassadors. Working closely with the client, Brian Communications developed a strategic campaign around the organization’s celebrity ambassadors: rising teen star, Bella Thorne, and former professional basketball player Shaquille O’Neal.

Through two campaigns, iDECIDE and InnerShaq, the goal was to empower young people to make the right decisions for themselves. Because of the young target audience, the Brian Communications team knew we had to drive awareness, engagement and viral sharing on the platform where teens are already hanging out: social media. Campaign assets included PSAs, videos, sweepstakes, ongoing social content, email outreach and a focused microsite.

RESULTS

Total iDECIDE registrations topped 7,000

Total iDECIDE video views exceeded 210,000 over a 12-week period

#iDECIDE tweeted more than 13,000 times reaching an estimated audience of 220 million people

UBS

THE BRIEF

UBS, one of the world’s largest wealth management firms, recognized that having on-the-ground media relations experts was critical to the success of its campaign to increase brand awareness in five select local markets across the country. Brian Communications was chosen as the agency for the Philadelphia/South Jersey region and was tasked with positioning four financial advisors as thought leaders in a media market with only one dedicated personal finance writer. In just a few short months, Brian Communications was leading the five local markets in driving media coverage of UBS, successfully positioning all four financial advisors as subject matter experts while also highlighting national UBS content developed by its corporate research department. UBS financial advisors now lead in the Philadelphia/South Jersey market with more media placements related to wealth management topics than any of its competitors. And recognizing that quality media placements are more valuable than quantity, one financial advisor eliminated his long-standing advertorial commitments less than a year into our public relations program, believing earned media placements provide greater value to growing his line of business.

RESULTS

Developed and executed a creative media relations strategy that successfully impacts hyper-local newspapers despite the lack of personal finance writers

Tandigm Health

THE BRIEF

In April 2014, Independence Blue Cross and DaVita HealthCare Partners announced the creation of a groundbreaking joint venture focused on providing high-quality, affordable health care in a highly competitive marketplace. Brian Communications was asked to build a brand for Independence and DaVita Healthcare Partners, which would help bring the region’s newest and most innovative model of health care to market.

The new company wanted its brand to reflect a clear commitment to work “in tandem” with primary care physicians to create a new “paradigm” of high-quality, affordable health care. As a company where “tradition meets innovation,” its position sought to reflect its promise to return primary care physicians to the center of patient care while taking advantage of new technologies, data resources and other health care innovations.

A strategically-designed rollout of the brand to a crowded and competitive market helped Tandigm exceed its first-year growth and success goals within months of launch and well ahead of projections. Its leadership praised the new brand and the new processes that supported consistent communication to key constituents.

CNN Heroes

THE BRIEF

In the age of multi-screen engagement and battles for viewership, CNN continues to seek new and innovative ways in which to grow awareness for one of its hallmark programs, CNN Heroes. Focused on telling the stories of everyday heroes, KPIs aim to drive opt-in registrations for re-marketing, engage the audience through voting and time spent with CNN, build advocacy through social mentions and create a viral lift. To accomplish these objectives, CNN again turned to us – for the eighth straight year – to develop a campaign to honor everyday people who truly make a difference in their community and to engage the public in selecting the Hero of the Year. As CNN’s trusted partner in hosting the cross-platform, multi-language voting interface, which captures votes from fans around the world on desktop, mobile, tablet and Facebook, we are proud each and every year when we – with the world – watch as the results are broadcasted live and hosted by Anderson Cooper.

Brides

THE BRIEF

For the third straight year Condé Nast sought to drive awareness of Brides Magazine, Brides.com and its sponsored content through an attractive online promotion. The key goals were to acquire new consumers for re-marketing and provide first-to-market opportunities for Brides’ sponsors by engaging users with featured advertising content via digital, social, mobile and print. To accomplish these goals, we created the 3rd Annual Brides Live Wedding – a multi-phase contest brought to life across a three screen experience. Brides were motivated to enter by the opportunity to win a dream destination wedding, their own YouTube series to showcase the big day and a donation to the charity of the winning couple’s choice. But there was an exciting catch – readers/consumers would vote to select every detail of the wedding – from the dress, to the cake, to the honeymoon destination.

RESULTS

Toys”R”Us

THE BRIEF

As one of America’s largest private companies, with annual sales of more than $12B, Toys”R”Us seeks new and exciting ways to engage consumers – and potential customers – across a variety of channels. For over 10 years, we have helped Toys”R”Us develop innovative marketing solutions and promotional programs that delight users whatever their age and wherever they might be – online, mobile, in-catalogue and/or in-store. The work has encompassed best-in-class sweepstakes, cutting edge user generated content (UGC) campaigns, CRM, instant win games, evergreen referral programs and even a virtual reality interactive sweepstakes for 2015’s holiday season. What began as a single project with Toy”R”Us has blossomed into work for all of the retailer’s brands including FAO Schwartz and Babies”R”Us, with more than 200 campaigns executed – and counting!

LiquidHub

THE BRIEF

A leading digital integrator, LiquidHub has experienced rapid growth while staying largely under the radar of consumer and trade press since it was founded in 2001. The company approached Brian with the goal of educating media and industry analysts about the emerging digital customer engagement market, while simultaneously positioning it as a leader in the space. The Brian team developed a comprehensive communications strategy focused on raising LiquidHub’s profile through aggressive media and analyst relations tactics, CEO positioning and brand guidance.

The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics

THE BRIEF

When the client is made up of 130 equal stakeholders, it’s vital to see the challenge as the opportunity. At Brian, we leveraged this wealth of knowledge to develop an abundance of subject matter experts, representing a variety of orthopaedic disciplines and healthcare experiences. By cultivating a deep pool of intellectual resources to offer to local media as well as larger metro dailies and national outlets, we were able to ensure that anytime a journalist needed a resource, we were offering the perfect person.

Ed Mahlman, Executive Vice President

Jodi Kerr, Senior Vice President, Strategy & Business Development

Meg Kane, Senior Vice President

Matt Broscious, Executive Vice President

Michelle Hunt, Vice President

Tara Armstrong, Senior Vice President, Operations

Aimee Tysarczyk, Vice President

Scott Hoeflich, Senior Vice President

Brian Tierney is the CEO of Brian and Realtime Media and is a nationally recognized expert in marketing and communications.

Prior to Brian and Realtime Media, Brian was owner and publisher of the Pulitzer-prize winning Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News as well as the Chief Executive Officer of its parent company, Philadelphia Media Holdings.

Brian has a distinguished record of building brands for some of the largest companies in the United States such as Exelon, Commerce Bank, Marriott, IBM, Deloitte, Aramark and Independence Blue Cross. He has launched several successful advertising and public relations companies, including T2 Group and Tierney Communications, which he grew to $275 million in billings and sold to the Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE: IPG).

He has served as Entrepreneur in Residence at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, has presented at the Milken Institute Global Conference and appeared on the BBC, CNBC, CBS, ABC and FOX. Brian serves on the board of NutriSystem (NASDAQ: NTRI) and Republic Bank (NASDAQ: FRBK), as well as several privately held businesses. He has served on the boards of numerous non-profit organizations including the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Thomas Jefferson University, Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, Episcopal Academy and the University of Pennsylvania Museum.

Brian received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, a Juris Doctor from Widener University School of Law and a Doctor of Humane letters from Cabrini College.

Ed Mahlman has created strategic advantages that deliver measurable outcomes for leading brands. Ed previously served as Chief Marketing Officer for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com, where he and his team created the nationally-recognized Media Lab™, Research Lab™ and America’s first contemporary three-dimensional newspaper advertising.

Immediately prior, he was Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Lottery. Turning around what had been 10 years of flat sales, Ed grew the business from two to three billion dollars, an increase of 50 percent, in just four years. Before that, Ed held several positions at Tierney Communications handling accounts such as Sunoco, Deloitte, Aramark, Verizon as well as several casinos.

Jodi Kerr is currently the Senior Vice President of Strategy and New Business Development at Brian. She has been with the company since 1999 and has been responsible for creating great ideas that trigger consumers to engage with brands, managing and executing national online, social and mobile promotional campaigns supporting major brand strategies. Some of her top-notch clients include Aol, Toys “R” Us, Comcast, Children’s Place, Unilever, eBay, Diageo, Martha Stewart, Maybelline and Novo Nordisk.

Many of her projects involve creatively applying new technologies and amplifying via social media including Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Vine and Twitter.

In 2012, Jodi won the PECO: Women Who Empowers Us Award. She is also involved with the Junior League of Philadelphia.

With wide-ranging experience in consumer packaged goods, education, cultural arts, luxury brands, healthcare and non-profit associations, Meg Kane brings a distinct perspective and terrific media relationships to her role at Brian. Whether offering strategic direction, messaging within crisis situations or creating targeted media plans for clients, Meg consistently focuses upon delivering results for agency clients while enhancing and/or protecting their brands. In this position, Meg has served as in-house, day-to-day counsel for The Philadelphia Orchestra during its high-profile bankruptcy and labor negotiations in 2011-2012, provides guidance for Horatio Alger Association’s National Visibility Campaign and is helping to lead the strategic communications efforts for the World Meeting of Families – Philadelphia 2015, which may serve as Pope Francis’ first visit to the United States.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from La Salle University (2003) as well as a Master’s Degree in Strategic Communication, Crisis Communication and Political Rhetoric from the University of Maryland (2005). Elected to the La Salle University Alumni Association Board of Directors in 2004, she served as its President from 2009-2011. In October 2012, Meg was appointed to the La Salle University Board of Trustees for a five year term. In keeping with her Lasallian ties, Meg was appointed to the Board of Trustees for La Salle Academy in February 2013. She also serves on the Development/Communications Committee for Fred’s Footsteps, a Philadelphia-based non-profit that provides interim funds for otherwise financially stable families to help them handle the fiscal burden of a child’s illness or traumatic injury.

Leading the public relations department at Brian, Matt provides strategic direction for many of the agency’s clients. Serving as one of the agency’s top reputation counselors, he has most recently provided issues management, media training and change communications for clients such as Aramark, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Independence Blue Cross, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Saint Joseph’s University, and Villanova University. Matt brings a breadth of experience having managed communications programs for clients across a multitude of industry sectors.

Prior to joining Brian for its launch in 2010, Matt spent six years rising through the ranks at Tierney Communications. Most notably, he oversaw the public relations efforts for one of the agency’s largest clients. Matt also held positions at Comcast and Elizabethtown College. He lives in Ardmore, Pa. with his wife and two sons.

Michelle is an accomplished marketing communications professional with more than eight years of experience demonstrating expertise in all aspects of marketing, including media relations, digital communications, social media, internal communications, community relations, issues management and media training. As a Vice President, Michelle oversees strategic communication and content marketing campaigns for a number of clients including Widener University, Independence Blue Cross and the Newspaper Association of America.

Prior to joining Brian, Michelle served as the Public Relations and Interactive Communications Manager at Sesame Place as the park’s sole digital marketing and public relations team member. She also has worked with top brands and Fortune 500 companies, including Rohm & Haas, Campbell Soup Company, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and AmerisourceBergen.

Tara is an analytics maven. She brings more than twelve years of interactive marketing experience to Brian, as Senior Vice President, Operations, overseeing digital strategy, analytics, and media planning. In short, she gets the word out, and the word that matters is “results.” With a passion for data-driven marketing strategy and experience leading both agency and client-side teams, Tara maintains a relentless focus on measuring against the bottom line. Her integrated, innovative solutions hit the mark for Toys “R” Us, Royal Caribbean, Maybelline, Genentech, and Meijer.

Tara received her MBA from Arizona State University and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Arizona with Honors. Tara has contributed to various articles and books in digital marketing. Tara was previously National Director of Media and Analytics at Band Digital, as well as Media Director at The Wharton School.

Aimee brings more than 14 years of experience working in communications in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. to Brian Communications as well as an extensive network of media and stakeholder relationships. She has a proven track record of creating results-driven, measurable media strategies and integrated marketing campaigns for a variety of clients including those in the healthcare, government, consumer packaged goods, gaming, sports, entertainment, and education sectors. From launching a full-scale marketing campaign at the Super Bowl to counseling corporate clients and C-suite leaders through issues and crises, Aimee lends a unique background and diverse perspectives to every new project. Prior to joining Brian Communications, Aimee served as the press secretary and communications director for the Pennsylvania Department of Health where she informed healthcare policy and communications strategies, in coordination with state and federal priorities. Aimee managed and counseled public health issues such as the programmatic and funding impacts of the implementation of the Affordable Care Act for the department and public health partners, the Ebola crisis of 2014, myriad disease outbreaks, and the proposed restructuring of Pennsylvania’s state health centers and ensuing legal battle. She also worked closely with Governor Corbett’s and Governor Wolf’s communications teams to promote public health initiatives and served as the voice on public health on behalf of the state as the on-the-record spokesperson for the department.

Scott brings a deep knowledge of strategic communications, government affairs and public affairs. Previously, Scott was a Senior Vice President at Finsbury working on crisis and strategic communications. Scott spent much of his career with U.S. Senator Arlen Specter’s office starting as an intern and progressing through a series of positions, including Communications Director, to become Chief of Staff.

During his tenure with the Senator, Scott oversaw communications on numerous high profile issues including: two Supreme Court confirmations; immigration reform; and the Senator’s party change. He also assisted with communications related to the Senator’s position as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Labor, Health and Human Services Subcommittee.

He is a graduate of Franklin & Marshall College and holds a bachelor’s degree in government.